The Academy for New Musical Theatre will launch Interstate Musical Theatre Project, a program to generate new American musicals, in October.

The two-year program is seeking musical theatre writers to submit works that explore American themes and culture. ANMT emphasizes the term "interstate," explaining that the theme "might mean anything from state-to-state relations/politics/ controversy, interstate highway transportation, inter-state commuting, long distance relationships, historical events, or anything in between."

Open only to brand-new works, the Interstate Musical Theatre Project will nurture the new musicals through a series of three workshops with members of the Academy Repertory Company in Los Angeles, as well as support from the ANMT staff.

Because the project is open to writers from across the country, ANMT has devised a plan to digitally record and upload all workshop performances so that Interstate Project members will be able to remotely view their own work, and that of other participants, throughout the course of the project.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for writers across the country," Elise Dewsberry, ANMT associate artistic director, said in a statement. "We're able to provide workshops and support for your musical no matter where you live. We're thrilled at the idea of working with musical theatre writers we wouldn't normally get to meet because they don't live in Los Angeles. This is going to be fun!"

One selected musical will receive a $10,000 prize in addition to a concert production as part of ANMT's Concert Reading Series in 2010. For application information visit ANMT.